    
Historic Barn Conference
Coming to the Kutztown University Campus
June 5 - 7, 2008 Additional information and a conference brochure are available by clicking on the "2008 Conference" link at the top of the page! 
Pennsylvania is fortunate to have a strong agrarian history. Integral to the story of the state’s flourishing fertile fields that were cleared and cultivated for many centuries and remain productive to this day is the role the sturdy barns played in the settling and use of our farmland. Pennsylvania is one of the few states that has a style of barn architecture that bears its name. Many types can be found across the Commonwealth, ranging from stone and log barns to immense, later-built frame examples. A familiar silhouette on any farm’s horizon here in Pennsylvania, barn architecture that is exhibited on individual farmsteads is as varied as the heritage of the brave and resilient farmers who settled the diverse regions of our Commonwealth’s early frontier. The timbers and stones taken from the cleared land and their hard labor created long-standing storage buildings that provided a safe haven for harvested crops and hungry livestock with each generation. Today, many of these symbols of our agrarian past are being threatened by demolition and neglect. Present day agriculture has also changed the face of the farmstead, with steel and aluminum replacing stone and lumber as the materials of convenience for today’s farm buildings. Too often the weather-worn historic barns are razed to make way for these twenty-first century pre-fabricated buildings and part of our heritage is lost forever. Join us as we work with the National Barn Alliance and the Heritage Conservancy in saving historic barns. Members are invited to attend the HBFF of PA’s annual meeting and will receive a quarterly newsletter, along with free admission to HBFF of PA lectures and workshops, plus access to the Foundation’s information repository and data. | 